1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to portable spray misting devices, both with and without fan assisting cooling and dispersion assemblies, and, more particularly, to a such a cooling device using fan-driven misting with a large fill and drinking port.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in the art that a fine mist or spray of a liquid can cool the surrounding air by evaporation and that this principle has been used in personal cooling devices. Cooling occurs when mist droplets impinge upon a target and are evaporated into the surrounding air. Additional cooling takes place if the liquid itself is very cold relative to the surrounding air and if an air stream blows on the user so as to accelerate the evaporation of water from the skin and clothing.
In practice, mists are generated inexpensively by actuation of a plastic trigger or by push button actuated piston pumps when the liquid contained within the dispensing body is at or near an atmospheric pressure and with aerosol valve/actuator sets when the liquid reservoir is above atmospheric pressure. Plastic piston pump misters are commonly and inexpensively available which employ a screw collar for attaching to the top of a conventional fluid-carrying bottle with a threaded neck.
However, the shortcoming of conventional bottle neck designs is that they are of standard dimension to accommodate the screw cap of the misting device and therefore do not easily permit the insertion into the container of ice cubes as one would want to do if the liquid in the reservoir needs to be cooled. It is also standard practice to have the spray mister removed from the fluid reservoir to permit repeated refilling. As a seal or gasket is often utilized between the annular collar of the mist sprayer attachment and the open neck of the receptacle, repeated loosening and tightening tends to result in early failure of the seal. Furthermore, if the user desires to repeatedly drink the water out of the reservoir or to empty it, the relatively small sized opening of the neck results in slow emptying and the user further cannot continue misting while refilling the reservoir.
The present invention is a portable spray misting device which is an improvement over prior art spray misters. The device includes an internally hollowed body capable of holding a volume of a fluid to be dispensed. The body has a substantially flattened base, a contoured upper body, and terminates in an upwardly extending and interiorly open neck which defines a first port having a first diameter.
A spray applicating head is provided for issuing a mist spray of fluid and, according to one preferred embodiment, is secured atop the open neck of the body by a threaded collar. In additional preferred embodiments, the collar is permanently secured to the open neck by adhesives, heat staking, welding or securably fashioning a split collar around the open neck so as to sandwich therebetween a downwardly facing flange portion of the spray head.
An interiorly open and annular rim extends from a specified location of the contoured upper body and defines a second port having a second diameter greater than the first diameter of the first port. A cap is provided and is capable of being resecured over the annular rim so as to provide access to the reservoir defined within the body interior at a second location, the second port defined within being of sufficient diameter to permit the insertion of ice cubes and further operable to permit the user to quickly empty or refill the reservoir, to refill while utilizing the spray mister.
The cap preferably also includes a spout and valve assembly which is actuable between a first closed position and a second open position and permits the user access to the fluid interior through the second port and without the need to disengage the cap from the annular rim. Additionally, a portable fan unit including a plurality of rotatable blades is capable of being releasably secured atop the spray misting head and so as to direct the spray mist into a path of the rotating blades so as to further cool and distribute the spray.
The fan unit further includes an elongated pedestal support portion rotatably secured to the body of the fan unit and rotatable from a first hidden position to a second engaged position, upon detachment of the fan unit, in which the fan unit is capable of setting upon a table top surface. Additional features of the present device may include an insulating jacket applied around the internally hollowed body for maintaining the temperature of the fluid contents, a lanyard loop portion secured to the body, a belt clip extending from the body, and a decorative covering material applied over the body, such as a stuffed plush toy animal shape or the like. The covering material over the sprayer may also be provided as a molded vinyl piece.